First Basemen: The Undrafted

Rather than start changing and editing my initial tiers after less than a week of games, I am going to take a page out of Justin Mason’s book and go over some of those undrafted first basemen. The guys you had no room for or simply didn’t think about as those last couple rounds just flew by you.

Unless you are in very deep leagues, you should still have better options available to you at first base. These are guys you should reserve for deeper leagues or if you completed punted on first base or suffered an injury. In no way are these guys you should build your squad around. I tried to key on guys who are garnering relatively regular playing time and can help you in those counting stats, with the last two guys giving a potential boost in BA and OBP.

Mike Napoli, CLE (3.6% ESPN/6.1% CBS/2% Yahoo): Most of the undrafted first basemen are stuck in platoons, and the higher valued guys are typically lefties who will get more at-bats. Napoli, although a righty, has the everyday job in Cleveland and already hit a homerun on Wednesday. He is certainly on the decline, but is in the heart of a solid line-up and may see a decent amount of RBI opportunities. I wouldn’t buy on the consistent power output just yet. The regular playing time can help with some counting stats, as well hurt your batting average if he doesn’t see an improvement in his contact rate.

Brandon Moss, STL (10.8% ESPN/20.6% CBS/4% Yahoo): Another guy who was once a really hot fantasy player, his value has declined because of a hip injury and the potential of splitting time with Matt Adams, and possibly Matt Holliday versus lefties. Moss will not help your batting average, but can be a nice cheap source of power, especially if healthy. I sometimes prefer to plug in holes with guys I know have been successful before as opposed to players who are the hot spring training story. In 2013 and 2014 Moss hit 30 and 25 HR’s without playing a full season. Again, continue to monitor this situation to see if Moss continues to receive the bulk of playing time at 1B.

Tyler White, HOU (8.4% ESPN/36% CBS/13% Yahoo): White has had a really hot start batting .600 with a home run already, after having an equally impressive spring. Interesting that he did not get the Opening Day start, yet it seems like he will be the main guy moving forward. Consistent playing time is one concern I have, as well as his minor league numbers. Always has been a strong OBP guy in the minors, but the homerun power has not been there. Yet. He has had a good ISO in the minors, so if those doubles turn to HR’s, he could be a real sneaky undrafted pick-up. The floor reminds me of James Loney, whereas the ceiling is what we expect from every doubles-hitting, patient minor league first baseman. I would still rather bet on Chris Carter. Drats, thought I could I go a whole article without mentioning him.

John Jaso, PIT (21.7% ESPN/6% CBS/2% Yahoo): I still remember when Bill James ranked Jaso as one of the top ten catchers in baseball a few years back, which was kind of crazy, but also awesome for us OBP nerds. If you are not in an OBP league, you might not see the much value in Jaso, but I would contend otherwise. He should continue to bat leadoff against righties and has a solid line-up batting behind him, providing a decent amount of run scoring opportunities. His scoring opportunities will only increase when Jung-Ho Kang returns. Health is always an issue, so I would ride the run scoring production as long as possible, and if he goes down, pick up his platoon mate Michael Morse who really doesn’t exhibit any particular platoon strength or weakness.